…would be to raise the income tax. So, what do you know, I opened up the Globe this morning to find an editorial in support of just that.
This editorial, by state senators Sonia Chang-Diaz and Jamie Eldridge, has so many things wrong with it that it will be hard to list them all. But I am going to try.
First, they write that “there are no easy solutions” and that “cutting alone will not get us out of this budget crisis.” Actually, cutting is a fairly easy solution, and it will get us out of the budget crisis if we cut enough. There is $3 billion less in revenue then at this time last year, so cutting $3 billion will solve the budget problem. It will be unpopular and will be painful to some people, but it is the right thing to do.
Then, they write that “taxes are the way that we, as a society, pay for the things we value: education, police and firefighters, and public transportation. Each day we rely upon government services, public infrastructure, and state regulation, paid for by our taxes, in order to allow us to work and raise a family.” I think it’s more accurate to say that taxes are a way that other people force me to pay for the things that they value. In addition to education, police, firefighters, and transportation, taxes also pay for free food, housing, cars, medical services, contraceptives, and baby supplies for poor people. I don’t know about you, but I don’t value free stuff that I am not allowed to get because I have too much money, nor do I value free stuff that I would never use (like the last two). Plus, firefighters, and possibly also education and transportation, can and should be privatized so that they are not paid for with taxes. Yes, we do use public infrastructure, but this, along with police, the military, and the court system, are the only things that should be funded with taxes. Using the word “rely” is going a little too far; that makes it sound like people are getting something they don’t deserve just because roads and laws exist. Also, not everyone raises a family.
Next: “A fair tax system asks residents to contribute to the cost of government services based on their ability to pay – and few people would consider a tax system to be fair if the poorer you are, the greater proportion of your income you pay in taxes.” No, a fair tax system asks residents to contribute based on how many services they use or how good of a person they are, or asks each resident to contribute the same amount. I guess I am one of those “few people,” because I consider a lump sum tax to be the fairest tax.
“Of course, there is nothing more regressive than a budget cut, particularly to programs that help the most vulnerable among us.” Why does that make budget cuts bad? And what do you mean by vulnerable? Vulnerable to what? “Poor,” “sick,” or “badly-off” would be a better word. Programs that only help those whom the government have decided are vulnerable are discriminatory against those who aren’t vulnerable.
“We applaud the House on its tough vote to raise the sales tax, because any means of raising revenue right now is a better solution than drastic cuts to vital services.” Actually, it’s the exact opposite. Any cut is a better solution than an increase in revenue.
“Because the income tax is more progressive, it relies more heavily on those who can most afford to pay it.” Why is that good?
“There are also ways we could modify the income tax to make it even more progressive.” Great idea! Let’s take something that is unfair and make it even worse!
“We rank in the bottom half of all states in terms of the overall amount of taxes we pay as a share of personal income.” That’s a good thing. Wouldn’t you want to keep it that way or even improve? I guess not if you’re a Democrat.
In short, raising the income tax is the absolute worst thing Massachusetts could do to solve the budget crisis. Chang-Diaz and Eldridge should be ashamed of themselves for advocating something so immoral and unfair.
Note: Sometime in the next few days I will put up a list of things that I would cut from the state budget, to show that it is possible. The budget is so long that it’ll take a little while to go through it all, but I hope to have my budget up ASAP.
